Edgar Allan Poe's Gothic Aesthetics

Edgar Allan Poe has been regarded as a Gothic writer,but his Gothic aesthetics has seldom been studied.This thesis explores Poe's Gothic aesthetics on the basis of a close reading of his works.This thesis first introduces Gothic aesthetics of the West,pointing out that,since ancient times,theorists of successive generations have put forward ideas of Gothic aesthetics without using the term “Gothic,” and writers of different ages have adopted Gothic style in various ways.Then this thesis examines Poe's Gothic aesthetics from three aspects: darkness,mental collapse and death in his works.Darkness penetrates into Poe's works.With descriptions of darkness in time,space and human heart,Poe creates a black world which is very depressive.Many of Poe's characters inevitably experience mental collapse caused by paranoia,guiltiness or gloom,casting a terrifying effect upon the reader.Death as Poe's favorite theme usually occurs in stories of revenge,beautiful women or predetermination.Death in Poe's works is both horrible and enthralling for the reader.By interpreting the ignored Gothic aesthetics in Poe's works,this thesis will enrich and broaden the scholarship of Poe to some extent.